/c/Vent: Vent about your life here ContrarianTrail • 12h ago • 95%

I'm so fucking done with this project already

I'm removing rust above the windshield and on both sides where the roof panel and side panels meet. I was hoping to finish in one day, but I spent all of yesterday on it, and I've been working since 7 AM today with still more to do tomorrow. - Taking off the roof rack was a pain, and putting it back is going to be just as bad. - The seam sealer on both sides was an absolute nightmare to grind off. - I went through four rounds of grinding, applying rust converter, wiping it off, and repeating the process—yet there are still small spots of rust left, and I just can't be bothered anymore. - It's near freezing, so I'm running a 3kW electric heater, which is going to cost a fortune. - I didn’t do enough sanding, so now the line between the old and new paint is going to be visible. - The antenna would've been a huge pain to remove, so I didn't and that’s probably where new rust will show up in a year or two. - I also did a poor job masking before applying the zinc primer, so now I've made a mess I have to clean up. I just hate it when you try to do a good job, but everything seems to go wrong. You get frustrated, start rushing, and make more mistakes, and in the end, you’re left with a sub-par finish that you'll probably have to redo in a few years because you didn’t do it properly the first time.

No Stupid Questions ContrarianTrail • 5d ago • 90%

Do you actually care about your friend's new baby, vacation abroad or similar life events or are you just being nice?

Because I don’t, and pretending to feels dishonest. I’ll listen if they want to talk about it, but I’m not going to act interested, and I certainly won’t ask about it on my own. What I’m trying to figure out is whether people actually care, or if they’re just playing a social game that I’m simply not interested in. I’m probably on the autistic spectrum, which likely explains this to some extent. But that’s not an excuse - being an asshole is perfectly compatible with autism, so before dunking on me, please realise I probably agree with your criticism.

Ask Lemmy ContrarianTrail • 2w ago • 89%

How are you doing financially?

I read that half of Americans couldn’t cover an unexpected $1,000 expense. This sounds crazy to me. I understand that poverty exists, but the idea that an adult with a job doesn’t even have that amount saved up seems really strange. What’s your relationship or philosophy with money? What do you credit for your financial success, or alternatively, what do you blame for your failures? For the extra brave ones: how much savings do you have, and what are you planning to do with them?

Ask Lemmy ContrarianTrail • 2w ago • 97%

What is the absolute last extreme sport you'd be willing to try?

Personally I'd say cave diving. I was contemplating between that and free ~~climbing~~ soloing but I honestly rather fall to my death than drown in a claustrophobic, dark, cold, silted up cave.

Ask Lemmy ContrarianTrail • 2w ago • 96%

What is your solution to the problem in the world you're the most vocal about?

Browsing social media, it’s apparent that people are quick to point out problems in the world, but what I see less often are suggestions for how to solve them. At best, I see vague ideas that might solve one issue but introduce new ones, which are rarely addressed. Simply stopping the bad behaviour rarely is a solution in itself. The world is not that simple. Take something like drug addiction. Telling someone to just stop taking drugs is not a solution.

Unpopular Opinion ContrarianTrail • 3w ago • 71%

On average, my discussions with chatGPT are more pleasant and insightful than the ones I have with real humans

The *best* conversations I still have are with real people, but those are rare. With ChatGPT, I reliably have good conversations, whereas with people, it’s hit or miss, usually miss. What AI does better: - It’s willing to discuss esoteric topics. Most humans prefer to talk about people and events. - It’s not driven by emotions or personal bias. - It doesn’t make mean, snide, sarcastic, ad hominem, or strawman responses. - It understands and responds to my actual view, even from a vague description, whereas humans often misunderstand me and argue against views I don’t hold. - It tells me when I’m wrong but without being a jerk about it. Another noteworthy point is that I’m very likely on the autistic spectrum, and my mind works differently than the average person’s, which probably explains, in part, why I struggle to maintain interest with human-to-human interactions.

I personally can't imagine anyone surviving long-term around running zombies. Even if fighting them was relatively easy, it’s statistically inevitable that sooner or later you'd get bitten. This applies to walking zombies too, but at least with them, you have the option to avoid physical altercations altogether, at least for the most part. That’s what I think most TV shows get wrong about zombies: even if there’s just one, and you could easily take it down, just don’t. It’s almost never worth the risk. In my view, the best way to survive is to avoid them as much as possible. Fighting is the last resort and should only be done in self-defence.

They're near-always military NH-90 copters and for some reason fly quite low. I hear one fying over around once a week. Also love the sound of them.

Unpopular Opinion ContrarianTrail • 3w ago • 72%

If you're jumping into online discussions only to throw hate and insults, you're just being an asshole, regardless of the cause.

There’s nothing wrong with criticism or calling out bad behavior. However, shouting "ACAB" in a thread about police violence, making jokes about beheading rich people, or throwing "muskrat" comments in discussions about Elon Musk, just to name a few examples, makes you an asshole and part of the reason why social media is so incredibly toxic. If you're doing that while also explaining why you feel that way, then it’s still not the best approach, but at least you're contributing to the conversation instead of just making noise. Throwing out insults without adding substance doesn't challenge anyone or encourage meaningful discussion; it just perpetuates the toxic environment that so many of us complain about.

It's water, isn't it? And second one is food. Well what about the third?

Unpopular Opinion ContrarianTrail • 4w ago • 69%

Consciousness is the only thing in the universe that cannot be an illusion

I'll start by acknowledging that this isn’t my idea, credit to Sam Harris. I also don’t know if this is even controversial, but I figured this would be a better place to post than in Showerthoughts. By consciousness, I mean the subjective experience of what it feels like to be. As philosopher Thomas Nagel put it: > 'An organism has conscious mental states if and only if there is something that it is like to be that organism—something it is like for the organism.' It’s at least conceivable that things like free will, the self, or even the entire universe could be an illusion. For all we know, we could be living in a simulation and nothing might be real. Even if you don’t believe that, there’s still a greater-than-zero chance you could be wrong. However, this doesn't apply to consciousness itself. Even if everything is just a hallucination, it remains an undeniable fact that it feels like something to hallucinate. To claim that consciousness could be an illusion is a self-contradictory statement as consciousness is where illusions appear.

Ask Lemmy ContrarianTrail • 1mo ago • 93%

What do you block people for?

Do you have a criteria for what qualifies as block-worthy offence or are you just doing it when you feel like it? Bonus question: how long is your block list?

Ask Lemmy ContrarianTrail • 1mo ago • 61%

What's the consensus on the definition of incel?

Is it simply: involuntarily celibate, or does it come with a package? To me, "incel" has always meant someone who’s simply just celibate against their will, but it feels like the term now also implies a specific worldview or even a subculture. Does identifying as an incel automatically come with those negative beliefs around gender and society, or should those two have separate terms? Has the definition changed?"

Showerthoughts ContrarianTrail • 1mo ago • 46%

We only do things for 2 reasons; either we want to, or we have to

There's no freedom in having to do something but you're also not free to choose your wants. Maybe it's better to just live and let life happen instead of thinking about what could've been. What ever happened is the only thing that could've happened.

Showerthoughts ContrarianTrail • 2mo ago • 97%

Discussions are like a game of telephone; you're converting idea into language and expecting the recipient to flawlessly translate it back into an idea.

I can only imagine the difference it would make if instead of telling about your idea you could show it